


To Grow Up Classified

by iamlordmoldyshorts



Category: Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-01 02:56:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10179137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamlordmoldyshorts/pseuds/iamlordmoldyshorts
Summary: Alex heads back to his old school to pick up his colleague's daughter. However, the repercussions from said excursion are a little higher than expected. What will happen when a teacher figures out Alex's current profession?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written/published in 2011.  
> Brought over from FF.net.  
> Beta'd by SamayouTamashi.

I'd always known that my situation growing up was…different. Most parents have normal jobs, leave their house in the morning and head to their offices to work their 9-5 jobs, only to return home to their loving family at the end of the day. My family was a little different.

My mom left us when I was nine years old. She decided that living with my father's crazy work schedule just didn't fit with her idea of the "perfect" family. Last I heard, she'd married an accountant. Talk about living the boring life. On the other hand, my father works for the SAS. He is sent on missions at the last minute with little forewarning, if any at all. Dangerous ones are the norm.

When he leaves town I am left to my own devices, but I've made my friends in the community. My neighbors check in on me and bring me food, my friends at school let me stay with them on the weekends so I'm not alone, and dads' friends, if they aren't with him, come and spend time with me too.

Dad's friends are far and wide. Uncle Johnny was his roommate in college. He and his wife, Aunt Rachel, come to visit me frequently. Uncles Wolf and Eagle, or Uncles Daniel and Ryan, worked with dad and were always gone when he was. Uncle Ben dropped in from time to time, but even rarer was when Uncle Cub stopped by. Uncle Cub was a mystery that I learned to accept. Unlike my other "uncles," Cub didn't have a last name, or it was never mentioned to me. Outside of the house, he was simply Alex. I was raised calling him Cub and he was only five years older than me. I'd met him when I was eleven years old and only seen him five or six times in the five years since.

Sometimes Uncle Alex showed up announced, but more often than not, he showed up out of the blue. It was always a pleasant surprise when I walked into my house after school and saw my dad and Cub sitting at the table drinking and talking shop. It never really occurred to me, until a sudden epiphany, that the few times I walked in on that scene, Alex would subtly change the conversation topic to include me in it.

My mom leaving us forced my dad and me into a different kind of relationship. The first time he disappeared, I had to work out how to live without him…at eleven years of age. I kept going to school and managed to feed myself, but when he came back, I had considered myself completely independent for two weeks. It was uncomfortable the first time he tried to order me around and I said no. Things were strained but eventually we sat down and spoke to each other as adults. Pretty precocious for an eleven year old, but we reached an impasse and have been on the same wave-length ever since.

It made perfect sense to me while it confused my friends. I can't begin to comprehend how other daughters interacted with their own fathers, as I was raised in such a different environment. I was forced to grow up in my dad's absence and none of them had ever experienced anything of the sort. In fact, by about age fourteen, they spent large amounts of time complaining that I got all this free time and that my dad trusted me whereas their parents were strict and enforced a nightly curfew and a bedtime. I didn't know what to tell them, as my dad's job was supposed to be kept quiet. A rift grew between the large group and me, but a few of my friends stuck it out and learned to deal with my familial quirks.

My life was quite abnormal while I was growing up…but it was my life and I was pretty used to it. That was the way of the world for six years. That was why I found it a bit strange when I was waiting, expecting my father to come pick me up at school for my doctor's appointment, only to have Alex show up at the door instead.


	2. Chapter 2

It isn't often that I am home in order to help out a friend in need. Usually, I'm the last consideration, as I'm frequently out of the country "on business." That why, when Snake called me and asked me to pick up his daughter at school, I jumped at the chance.

After gathering all the information I would need to pick her up and get her to the doctor's office, Josh called the school and informed them that I was coming instead. I looked up the directions and temporarily succumbed to bug-eyes.

"She goes to Brookland?"

Josh turned his head to look at Alex. "Is that a problem?"

Alex glanced back down at the directions, "No. No problem. I just didn't know. I went there, you know, before MI6 pulled me out to work for them." According to the map, it would only take him seven minutes to get to the school. Working out the math in his head, he realized he had about half an hour before he had to leave. He looked up again when he realized Snake was still talking. "What did you say?"

"I didn't realize you knew of the school. Can you still do it or should I ask Eagle?"

Alex snorted. "It's almost offensive that you consider Ryan to be an acceptable alternative to me picking Cassandra up from school." Alex rolled his eyes. "I'll go get her, don't worry." I considered the logistics of his school days. It had been six years since I had last stepped foot on Brookland soil. When I had turned fifteen, Jack had left and returned to the States. She claimed she couldn't handle the pressure. I understood, but still felt betrayed. As the one person I had left, I felt she should have tried harder to stand up to MI6. Doesn't matter now, it's in the past. Anyway, after my fifteenth birthday, right after I had returned from Africa, I had a few weeks stay of execution before MI6 pulled me out of the school for good. I didn't know if returning there would be the best of ideas, considering I left in a whirlwind of uncertainty and secrecy, but I had promised Snake I would do so.

I nodded to Josh as he walked out the door with a passing "thanks," and grabbed my keys and wallet to let myself out as well. Many years ago, he had provided me with a key to his house on the highly likely chance that he wouldn't be home when I stopped by. Using it now, I locked the front door and sank into the driver's seat of my car. Hands gripping the steering wheel of my jet black Audi R8, I took my time starting the car. I really didn't want to arrive too early.

I couldn't imagine any of my old teachers still working at the school. When you think about it, no one really ever thinks their old teachers will still be there. Everyone likes to think that once they leave, the teachers move on with their lives and retire. I knew this wasn't the case, but I hoped visiting Brookland wouldn't cause any trouble…for me or any of the students.

I pushed the button to start up my car and slowly pulled out of the driveway. Driving this car was such a joy. Truth be told, not having anyone chasing me was the best part. It wasn't often I got to enjoy the subtle vibrations of my Audi engine beneath my feet. I glanced down at my directions and made my way to Brookland without breaking the speeding laws once. Bliss.

I pulled into a visitor parking spot at the school and glanced at my watch. Despite following traffic laws, I was five minutes early. Shrugging, I got out of my car and strode to the front visitor's entrance. I pushed the obnoxious buzzer and was let into the building with instructions to stop at the front desk to sign in. I pushed in the door and low-and-behold, who should be there but Miss. Bedfordshire. She looked older, as tends to happen. Now in her early thirties, time had been good to her. Without looking up she stated, "Fill out your name, reason for visiting, and a description of your car so we don't tow it accidentally," and pushed a clipboard at me.

Grinning, I grabbed it and said, "Thanks Miss Bedfordshire," and sat down.

She wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion and looked up. Recognition slowly dawned in her eyes as she looked over my face. Her face assumed a frown.

"Mr. Rider. You've been gone for six years. What's your excuse this time? Chicken pox?"

Wincing, I grinned ruefully and rubbed the back of my neck. "Right, uhhh…"

Letting me off the hook, she smiled lightly at me. "Welcome back. What can I do yah for?"

"I'm here to pick up Cassandra McMan for a doctor's appointment. Her father called to tell you that he couldn't make it and I was coming in his stead."

Reacting to my professionalism, the secretary turned to her computer quickly and typed in some information. "Unfortunately," she stated as she continued to type, "our office assistant is out with the flu today." At this, she stopped typing and looked at me. "At least, she said it was the flu." She stared at me hard for a few seconds and then continued typing. "That means I have no means to go get Cassie from her class. Would you be amenable to going to get her?"

"It's no problem. Which classroom is she in?"

She typed a few seconds longer and then grabbed a post-it note. Writing it down as she spoke it, "Cassie is in room 115 with Mr. David Grizzle." She tore off the post-it and handed it to me. I looked down to confirm, "115…that's in the science wing, isn't it? …Chemistry?"

"That would be the one."

"Right, thanks," I turned on my heel and marched out the door. Taking a left, I let my memory guide me to the science wing of the school.

I guess I'll take a moment to acknowledge the irony. I find it ironic that my first (and hopefully only) day back at Brooklands has me going to the newest part of the school; newest, because it had been blown up. No, let's be honest here…it's the newest part because _I_ blew it up. In the time it took me to find Cassie's class, I reminisced about how I got into working for MI6 in the first place. The "olden" days but not necessarily the "golden" days. I thought about how unprepared I was for the first few missions I went on. I contemplated how MI6, at one point, hadn't even let me carry a gun and I constantly had to improvise. The day that changed was the day I had accepted that there was no other option for me.

__

* * *

_I was called into Mrs. Jones's office after a particularly grueling mission that landed me in Prague. With only a three day break, I knew I was going to be sent away again. I walked into her office and sat down in front of her._

" _Here's the deal. Throughout the course of working for MI6, I've changed. I've grown to see the truth in people that they won't own up to. You are going to keep using me. I realize that. You realize that. All of bloody MI6 realizes that. You simply won't admit it to me. So, I propose a deal."_

" _I'm listening."_

_Alex took a deep breath and settled a chilling gaze upon her, "I will work for you. No blackmail necessary. But I want to be trained properly, I want a gun and I want pay and legal standing in the country. I'm fifteen, but I can handle myself well enough. Emancipate me." I settled into my chair as I laid down my demands._

_Mrs. Jones leaned back in her chair and steepled her fingers in front of her, contemplating his list of commands. "If you work for our company, we have to work out a contract. We need to reach common ground on what to pay you and how many missions you'll go on per year. You're willing to drop out of school and work with us full time?"_

_I nodded and mentioned, "I would like to take my GSCE's, however, as I never got the opportunity."_

_She stared at me for a minute longer, her eyebrows furrowed, as if she were trying to understand my reasoning. I stared back, equally intense, and awaited her decision. She finally looked away and her eyes relocated to her phone on the desk. Pushing the intercom button, she called out for her assistant. "Jamal, please bring in the new employee paperwork."_

" _Right away, ma'am."_

_We got down to negotiations._

_Later in the day, I was sent down to Smithers to pick up my first official gun. A Sig Sauer P229._

_I took it in my hand and analyzed the breach. Nodding to myself, I finished my examinations and was directed to the shooting range. Quickly dismantling and then reassembling the pistol, I inserted the magazine and racked the slide to chamber the first round. I picked a lane and pressed the "on" button. I felt myself sink into my normal shooting stance, and began shooting once the gun felt like an extension of my hand. When the task was over, I lowered my arm and brought the targets to me. With a score like that, it was like I had never stopped shooting. It was like returning home. I turned around and walked out of MI6 of my own will for the first time._

* * *

I approached the door to room 115 and attempted to peek in, but was derailed when there was an inconvenient piece of green construction paper placed over the window. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door and turned the knob.

I poked my head in and quickly scanned my surroundings. Spotting Mr. Grizzle in the middle of the class, I addressed him. "I'm here to pick up Cassandra McMan for a doctor's appointment."

He took a second to stare at me with a creased brow. I felt uncomfortable, but did everything in my stead to not squirm under his gaze. Eventually he turned around and told Cassie to gather her stuff. He went over to explain the night's homework. After thirty seconds, both Cassie and Grizzle turned to look at me, Cassie gathering her pack on her shoulder and heading towards me.

"Now, don't disappear for a long time, Cassie. We wouldn't want you to suddenly succumb to Alex Rider syndrome." Grizzle eyes flashed to me as he said it.

Most of the class started grinning and chuckling as Cassie turned around and retorted, "No, I'll definitely be back tomorrow. No unexplained illness from me. Just a routine checkup." Cassie smiled and turned back towards me. "Hey Uncle Cub."

I grinned at her, wrapped my arm around her shoulder and let the door shut behind us on the way out.

"Hey kid. How's life been treating you?"

She wiggled her way out from underneath my arm and turned to glare at me. "Alright, first of all let's get this straight. I am only five years younger than you."

I raised my eyebrow at her.

"Don't call me kid!"

I smirked and nodded. "Okay, squirt." I quickly hopped out of reach of her arm, eyes widening in fake surprise, and smirked again as she "hmph"ed and flounced off down the hall. I strolled after her until she got to the front office. Miss Bedfordshire wasn't in her normal seat, so I signed Cassie out and we left Brookland.

Walking towards the parking lot, I heard Cassie gasp. Eyes quickly canvassing the area and finding nothing gasp-worthy, I looked up at Cassie.

"You got a new car?"

Ahh _…_ "Well, I got into an accident in my last one. This is my replacement." Truth be told, I hadn't crashed my car. It had been towed while I was away on a mission and when I came back, I went to pick it up. Apparently, the local tow center was being run by a maniacal mad-man named Don Pittser who had been trying to lure me to the auto yard. One has to wonder where these bad guys come from…

My car had been destroyed in the cross fire. It was a shame really. She had been stunning. Still, the new car was beautiful.

"It's beautiful," Cassie whispered, unknowingly echoing my sentiments about the car.

"Agreed." I clicked the unlock button. "Get in."

* * *

By the time Cassie was deemed healthy by the doctor, there were only forty-five minutes left in school. We conclusively decided to skip it and go out for ice cream. I brought her home and we watched television together until her father got back. I knew she didn't need a babysitter, but I truthfully didn't have anything else to do. Hanging out with Cassie is usually the most fun I have when I'm not on a mission. I consider it the ultimate break time.

When Snake got home, he cooked dinner and we sat down to eat together. A few hours later, after Cassie had gone to bed, he and I talked about the past (as two old soldiers will do). Around midnight, I went home and prepared for bed. As I lay down, I had a pair of quizzical eyes burned into my brain. Slowly, I fell into sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

There's something to be said about torturing students three times a week. This legalized agony that the teachers inflict upon us in the guise of chemistry should be outlawed. That's all there is to it. Luckily, on the slight chance that your dad is rarely in the country, you might have a doctor's appointment that just happens to be scheduled during one of the tri-weekly torture sessions. It wasn't planned that way. Honest.

…Oh, who am I kidding? I called the doctor's office to make the appointment myself.

As I listened to my teacher drag on about transmutation something-or-other, I briefly look at my watch. The minutes seemed to inch away. I blinked my way out of a stupor and put my head up, trying to tune in.

"…how radioactive decay invariably accomplishes this idea. However, transmutation was originally the idea of turning ordinary metals into gold, which was only accomplished a while ago at a California university, but the cost of the project severely outweighed the amount of gold produced."

I watched as he paced around the classroom, hitting his pen against his hand as he lectured to the sleeping group.

"Alchemists were looking for the philosopher's stone: a mythical stone that would supposedly turn ordinary "young" metals like iron into "mature" metals like gold."

He paused as we all became aware of a knock on the door. My head whipped around as the door opened and…my eyes widened. A huge grin split my face as Uncle Cub slipped his head in the door.

"I'm here to pick up Cassandra McMan for a doctor's appointment."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment while Mr. Grizzle stared at Alex in confusion. I guess he just didn't know my full name. I usually go by Cassie. I was about to stand up and help him out when he turned to face me and told me to get my stuff. He came over to assign the night's homework. I wrote it down, gathered my stuff, and turned to face Alex.

With most of the class awake and paying attention now, walking through them felt extremely uncomfortable. The sheer amount of eyes on me was probably more than Grizzle had ever had to deal with. From behind me, I heard "Now, don't disappear for a long time, Cassie. We wouldn't want you to suddenly succumb to Alex Rider syndrome."

Now, let me explain a little bit to the uneducated. Alex Rider was a kid who went to Brookland years ago. Around five years ago, to be precise. He was pretty normal until he lost his only relative in a car crash. Afterwards, it's been said he somewhat lost it. He started disappearing from school for weeks…even months at a time. Each time, he came back with doctors notes stating new illnesses that he had been hospitalized for. This happened for a year until finally he left and never came back. Rumor stated that he was a drug dealer who had been murdered. Or that he was in a gang and had been shot in a gang war. One person even claimed that they had seen him get shot outside of a bank that he had just finished robbing. Generally, the common consensus was that he had died…but of course, no one had proof of that. Anyway, back to the present.

As the masses guffawed, I turned around and retorted, "No, I'll definitely be back tomorrow. No unexplained illness from me. Just a routine checkup." I continued to the door. "Hey Uncle Cub!" He smiled at me, grabbed my shoulder, and we walked out of the class together.

Now, this is an ongoing issue we had, so when he asked me, "Hey kid. How's life been treating you," I was forced to retaliate with my ever present-yet-continuously-different response.

"Alright, first of all let's get this straight. I am only five years younger than you. Don't call me kid!"

"Okay, squirt." Ugh. That's it. I reached out and tried to punch his arm, but as always, he was too quick and stepped away. I crossed my arms and pouted. Turning, I hurried down the hall and into the front office. It was empty, so I made him sign me out and we walked through the doors.

As we approached the parking lot, I noticed that Alex had a new car. I gasped. "You got a new car?"

As he explained the circumstances that lead to the purchasing of this new hunk of sleekness, I circled the car and examined every crevice. Eyes wide, I whispered, "It's beautiful."

I got in and he drove me (safely, as always), to the doctor's office. After the usual check up, Alex offered to take me out for ice cream. I got my normal pecan praline crunch with a side of strange looks from Alex and he got a chocolate cone. We sat and talked for a while, catching up about school and his many vacations around the world. He seemed so care-free when he talked about the many places he had seen or visited. I think I've never seen him happier than when he talked about visiting the south of France with an old friend. It really made my average day pale in comparison.

My house was unsurprisingly empty when we got home. We sat down on the couch and watched a mindless action movie until we both heard a car pull into the driveway. Dad walked in the front door and saw Alex still sitting on the couch. After inviting him to stay for dinner, dad walked into the kitchen to figure out what was edible in the house. Eventually, I looked at the clock and realized that it was my bed time. Stating my goodbye's, I hugged my dad, pounded fists with Alex and went upstairs to get some sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Sometimes I wish my thoughts could just be turned off. There are nights I wish for sleep with all my heart. Usually for me, these nights take place after I see Alex. I try counting sheep, I listen to music, I read my economics book. Nothing works. Tonight, as I lay staring at the ceiling, I couldn't help but think of all the things I could be doing with my time instead of counting the glow-in-the-dark stars I had put up the month after my mom left. Slowly sitting up, I made the executive decision to go downstairs and fix some herbal tea.

I cracked my door quietly and tiptoed past my dad's room at the top of the stairs. Skipping the creaky stair, I froze in the kitchen doorway. The sight that greeted me was unnerving. My dad was sitting at the table with his head in his hands. I couldn't tell if he was asleep or simply upset, as his back was towards me. I made sure to make a noise before entering the kitchen. I had grown up with him and I knew how fast his reflexes were. Asleep or not, if he happened to be surprised by me showing up behind him…well, let's just say that being near him was a dangerous place to be and leave it at that.

As my elbow rustled against the countertop, he quickly raised his head and turned to look at me. Acknowledging my presence, he sat up and stretched his back over the top of the chair.

"What are you doing up, kiddo?"

I held up a mug. "Couldn't sleep. I was going to make some tea. Want any?"

"Go ahead and make mine a double." He rubbed his eyes and stood up to stretch some more. "Is there something on your mind?"

"More like a lot of things." I set the tea kettle on the stove. "You ever get the vibe that Uncle Cub doesn't tell us anything important in his life?"

He scoffed and sat back down at the table. Placing his elbows on the table, he rested his head back in his hands. "Oh Cass, you have _no_ idea." Head still buried in his hands, he shifted his face to look at me. "Why? Did he say something to you today?"

I sat down at the other side of the table while I waited for my water to boil. "Not really. It was more of a gut feeling. Today at school, he and Mr. Grizzle had an odd "staring" moment that I didn't know what to make of. And I know he doesn't come around all that much because he works all the time and he's always in other countries. And I know you met him through your work, so he has to do something for the government. He's always just so…so…"

"Secretive?"

"Ugh! Yes! Is he like that with you?"

My dad shook his head. "I guess I've just known him longer. I know how to read his body language, despite how hard he's tried to hide it. Cass, there's a lot you don't know about Cub. And there's a lot you don't _need_ to know about Cub."

I sighed. "Is there anything you can tell me? Just a hint? Sometimes I just feel like I'm hitting a brick wall. It's irritating."

Dad contemplated the wall behind me for a second. Reaching a decision, he looked back at me. "Did I ever tell you the story about how the rest of the unit and I met Cub?"

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "You have not. Interesting back-story? I always assumed you had met him through a family friend of some sort…"

He scoffed again. "I wish I had met him through a family friend. That would make for a safer alternative." He shook his head. "I met Cub at a SAS training camp six years ago in Wales when I was being trained. He was with us for a little more than a week and really was quite good. If I remember correctly, we were real wankers. Treated him like right shite." He paused to look at me. "Don't repeat those words."

I rolled my eyes.

He looked back down at the table. "After eleven days of training, Cub disappeared. Two months later, the SAS were called in to help clean up a mess an agent made in a foreign country. Wolf headed up the team with Uncle Ryan, Ben, and I trailing along for the ride.* We flew into France hearing tales of a young boy who had snowboarded down a mountain on a cut up ironing board and run head first into a train. None of us really believed it, but Wolf walked off to meet the agent and came back bearing Alex. We all assumed that Alex was just our eyes to the inside of the building we were going to storm, but then he blew up a helicopter with a snowmobile…"

I snorted and he looked up at me.

"I'm serious Cass. You cannot imagine the explosion." I shook my head and watched him get up as the tea kettle started whistling. Moving around and getting the tea ready, he continued. "I never really ran into him in the line of duty after that. Wolf did frequently. I know that after Ben quit SAS, he saw Alex much more often. The first time I saw him after France was when Ben came over one night dragging Alex with him. It was maybe five years ago. He was 16, but didn't look it."

His eyes got haunted as he passed me my tea. He walked back to the other side of the table and sat back down. Cradling the warm mug in his hands, he spoke into it, "He looked like a man twice his age. Almost world weary." He was whispering at this point, "Cass, if you ever look at me like that before you hit 50, I might burst into tears."

I reached across the table and offered my hand. He gripped it and squeezed tightly.

"You're always gonna be my little girl, right kiddo?"

I squeezed back. "Of course, daddy."

He nodded and took a sip of his tea. We spent the next five minutes drinking from our mugs in silence. He finished first and took his mug to the sink.

"I'm going to bed, Cass. You good down here?"

I nodded.

"Alright. Don't forget you have school tomorrow and make sure to take your doctor's excuse. And please shut everything off down here before you go up."

He cuffed the top of my head and headed upstairs.

I finished off the dregs of my drink and placed it in the sink next to the other dirty mug. I flipped the light switch and headed upstairs to my room, thoughts swarming. I had hoped tea would calm my mind, but the discussion had simply aroused more questions. If Alex had started training when he was 14 and was already working missions two months later, how many missions had he gone on? Clearly he was smart enough to sneak around…so did he go to school? If so, when? Had he lived by himself this entire time with no one to look after him? Were his parents in the army and was that how he had gotten into the Welsh training camp? Dozens of questions floating around in my head, I got back in bed and shut my eyes.

I composed a mental checklist of what I had known previously compiled with what I had learned tonight:

Alex was from London

Alex (AKA Cub) went to SAS training when he was 14.

Two months later, he was partaking in missions.

Six years later, he traveled like crazy and made ridiculous sums of money.

He knew his way around Brookland and was possibly recognized by a teacher.

"Now there's something…" If Alex had gone to Brookland, he would have been at the school when he went to training. Which logically meant that he had been pulled out of school (or had voluntarily left) in order to work with the SAS. It also meant that two months later, when he was undercover in a foreign country, that he wouldn't have been in school either. In the middle of May. It was like a metaphorical light bulb clicking on.

I sat straight up. Eyes wide, I whispered under my breath, "Alex is Alex Rider." I quickly looked around my room and out my window, making sure no one was listening in. …Of _course_ no one was listening. It was two in the morning and I lived on the second story. I slowly sunk back under the covers, grinning to myself and resolved to find the information that proved my hypothesis.

Somewhere in Chelsea, Alex Rider woke up, sneezed, and went back to bed.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *It never actually places K-Unit in France. It merely says Wolf and seven SAS guys. Given the fact that Horowitz names Wolf personally…but none of the others, I can only assume that Fox, Eagle, and Snake weren't there. However, for the sake of my fanfiction, we'll assume they were, eh?  
> **I've always been told that if someone's thinking deep thoughts about you, it causes you to sneeze. Somewhat like if you're talking about someone, it causes their ears to burn? That's where this statement came from.


	5. Chapter 5

My alarm rang too early this morning. It's almost like it reset itself so that I only got four hours of sleep. It wasn't till I got out of bed that I realized, due to the late night shenanigans, I really _had_ gotten only four hours of sleep. That thought made me freeze as I stuck my arm through my sleeve. I groaned and pushed my head through the turtleneck. Quickly completing my morning ritual, I emerged from my private domicile and sniffed the air timidly. Frowning grumpily, I realized my dad was still sleeping and consequently not making breakfast. Resigning myself to cereal, I walked down stairs and helped myself.

I left the house, locking the front door, and took a left at the sidewalk. I slowly made my way to school, as I did every school day. You'd think after reaching a conclusion of this magnitude that something interesting would come along and derail your life. Alas, I walked in silence.

As I entered the school, I approached Miss Bedfordshire's desk.

She looked up, "Ahh, Cassie. How was your doctor's appointment?" I handed her my note and responded, "Perfectly normal. I'm not dying, so no worries there." I received my pass as she glanced at me. I saw that look in her eyes - the one that meant she wanted to ask a question but was unsure how to phrase it. Bypassing her completely, I turned on my heel and hurried out of the office with a muttered, "Thanks!"

The hallway was completely jam-packed. There were still about ten minutes until the bell would ring, so it was a swarm of raging hormones as boys hit on girls, girls flirted with boys, and the nerds avoided all human contact what-so-ever. I rolled my eyes and started elbowing my way through the herd to my locker.

I guess I should take the time to ask a general poll, if you will. Do you ever face a scenario where the little devil and the little angel show up on your shoulders and argue with each other about what you should do in this particular instance?

Nothing was more tempting than the couple in front of me, holding hands and blocking my way.

_Red rover, red rover, let Cassie come over?_

Not wishing to draw any more attention to myself after Cub's abrupt departure yesterday, the angel won out and I walked around them with a polite, "Excuse me."

I grabbed my books from my locker and headed to geometry. Nothing interesting happened throughout the day, but I was dreading my inevitable return to chemistry after lunch. Gulping down the last of my Coke, I gathered by bags and headed to my least favorite class. I handed Mr. Grizzle my pass and quickly took my seat, hoping that he wouldn't make a big deal out of my "guardian" from the day before.

As Mr. Grizzle started walking around, lecturing about something or another, Sam, my lab partner, turned to me and whispered in my ear,

"You're so lucky you got to leave yesterday. I would give anything to get out of this class."

Oblivious to the inattentiveness of his class, Grizzle continued pacing between the desks. I responded, "Yeah. I schedule my own doctor's appointments now since my dad is out of town so often. If they just so happen to conveniently fall during chemistry…" I left the sentence hanging and sat back up.

Sam grinned at me and waved me back over. "So, you got an A-ok from the doctor? Or do you have another appointment next week?" He winked at me.

I grinned back, "Nope. Healthy as a horse, unfortunately."

"Oh good. I was worried you were going to pull an Alex Rider and I'd be out of a lab partner for a few weeks. I wouldn't be able to handle a Bubble for an extended period of time…"

[Bubble: A superficial ditz who contains not one ounce of common sense. See also: Airhead]

I looked at him sharply. "You know, Rider went to this school seven years ago. We never knew him. Why do we all make fun of him? I just don't see the humor in it." I sat back up and looked straight ahead, tuning Sam out and pretending to devote my full attention to…whatever it was Grizzle was teaching.

"What are you talking about! Everyone makes fun of Alex Rider. He was weird and disappeared," Sam hissed at me.

Before I could respond however, we were brutally interrupted by a loud voice. "Something to share with the class, Mr. Rubenstein?"

We whipped our heads around to find Mr. Grizzle right behind us. Eyes widening, Sam shook his head. "No sir. I was merely attempting to catch Cassie up from what she missed yesterday." He looked at me with pleading eyes. I simply stared at him and looked back up at the teacher.

He eyed me. "Miss McMan, I would love the opportunity to speak with you after class. I will personally catch you up on what was missed."

I withheld a groan as he turned around and continued speaking to the class.

The show over, each student put their heads back down and went back to sleep.

"Thanks a lot," I hissed from the corner of my mouth.

He just looked at me and shook his head.

Once again I was staring at my watch, watching the second hand inch away. However, this time, I didn't want to reach the end of class. I was perfectly content to sit here and pretend to pay attention to the teacher. I've come to find that when you're face to face with the person you're ignoring…it's much harder to ignore them. I sighed as the bell rang and the surrounding students jumped from their seats. I sat patiently while the wild mob swarmed the door. Once they were gone, I gathered my things and walked up to Mr. Grizzle's desk.

"You wanted to speak with me, sir?"

He stared at me for a second and started, "Cassie…" He pursed his lips.

I stood there and tried not to fidget as I allowed him time to gather his thoughts.

"Were you standing up for Alex Rider in class today?"

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

"When you and Mr. Rubenstein were in talking in the middle of my lecture, I heard him mention Alex Rider. You didn't seem too pleased with Sam. I am trying to understand why."

I licked my lips. "Sir, I am sorry for talking during the middle of class, but I really was just trying to figure out what I missed yesterday."

His eyes hardened. "Cassie."

I looked down. "I just don't understand why everyone rags on this guy. He's been gone for seven years. He couldn't have been _that_ memorable!"

I picked up my head and looked him square in the eye. "I don't think it's right that every teacher and student in this school picks on someone that, for all we know, could be dead."

As he stared at me, I remembered the exact moment when my father had taught me the keys to running a convincing bluff.

* * *

_He rolled a chip between his fingers as he looked up at me. He raised an eyebrow, awaiting my move._

_I looked down at my cards one last time. I didn't really know what to do in this situation. Did I hit or stick? With 15 points, I didn't know what the protocol was. I tossed in a $5 chip and said, "I guess I'll stick."_

_Rolling the chip one last time, he looked into my eyes. It felt like he was studying me and I had to look away. He tossed the chip in and said, "Let's see 'em then."_

_I flipped the cards over._

" _Fifteen. Not bad." He turned his cards over. "Cassie, I need to teach you a very important life lesson." He collected the chips in the pot and lined them up in front of him. "I'm going to show you how to lie – and there-by win – at poker."_

_I tilted my head and looked at him. As a thirteen year-old, I had always been encouraged not to lie…ever. "Why would I want to know that, dad?"_

_He considered the question for a minute. "Well, Cass…sometimes, lying is expected. When you play poker, it is expected that you hide your thoughts and emotions or else the other player has a one-up over you. There are times outside of poker when lying is okay too. I work for the government, yes?"_

_I nodded._

" _Well, if anyone ever came up to you and started asking questions about my job…and God forbid, I wasn't here…I would want you to lie and get away from them. Does that make sense?"_

_I nodded again._

" _So, young Padawan. Let us start your lying training."_

_I nodded my head once and sat up._

" _The first important thing is to look your opponent straight in the eye. When you lie, your eyes have a tendency to wander. If you look someone straight in the eye, it means your conscience is clear. Got it?"_

" _When lying, look the person in the eye. Got it. What else?"_

" _Stick to your story. Keep it simple and don't change your tune mid-discussion. That's a sure give-away that you are making it up on the spot. If they want details, keep it vague and claim you can't remember. If you can remember all the obscure details, it's because you paid special attention or knew you were going to be asked about it. Make sense?"_

" _Yeah. Look person in the eye, keep it simple, and don't change the story. Anything else?"_

" _Those are the big ones. With regards to lying at cards? Keep your face straight. Don't move it at all."_

" _Alright. Want to go another round?"_

_He picked up the cards. "Bring it on."_

* * *

I continued to stare blankly at Mr. Grizzle. When it was clear he was waiting for me to speak again and he had nothing else to say, I quickly spouted off, "If that is all, Mr. Grizzle, I have to go to my next class. I'd hate to miss any more lectures. I'm far enough behind in maths as it is."

With that, I nodded, turned on my heel, and walked out of the class.


	6. Chapter 6

It had been two months since I had visited Brookland to pick up Cassie. Though I had sworn not to return, here I was, faced with the inevitable homecoming. I couldn't really complain though. It was my fault that I was in this predicament in the first place.

I was called on by MI6 to go to Egypt in order to anonymously assist in overthrowing the government. After the initial unrest, a back-up team had been called in to help me clean up. Back-up had consisted of SAS's very own Snake. Towards the end of the mission, he had been posing as a camera man to a reporter who was then trampled by the mob. Bullets were flying. As I was rushed in the other direction by the flow of the crowd, Josh had been clipped by airborne bullets twice and then crushed by the stampede. I worked my way back to his prone form and felt for a pulse. Finding one, I picked him up in a fireman's hold and took him back to our safe house.

Three days later we were back in the UK and Josh had been taken to St. Dominic's for immediate medical attention.

With her father out of commission and the mother being completely out of the picture, I had charged myself with informing Cassandra about her father's current location and health status. Which brings me to the present…leaning against my car, staring at the large brick building in front of me through my shaded sunglasses. I heaved a sigh, straightened up, and headed towards the visitor's entrance.

* * *

"I'm here to pick up Cassandra McMan."

Miss Bedfordshire looked up at the sound of my voice. "Another doctor's appointment? I don't think I got a phone call from her dad." She started shuffling through the papers on her desk.

I interrupted before she could got too frazzled, "Actually ma'am, I'm here because her father is in hospital. As he's incapacitated, and her mom is out of the country, I am the only person who knows that her father won't be home tonight."

I really didn't know what the protocol would be in this situation. I wasn't Cassie's emergency contact. I wasn't even on the list of approved adults capable of picking her up. Miss Bedfordshire had no way of validating what I was saying. I stared at her while she formulated an idea in her head.

"Okay, Mr. Rider. I will allow you to go get Cassie for today, but if she's going to be gone tomorrow, the hospital needs to have an administrator call and inform me, personally, that Mr. McMan is unconscious…and if he regains consciousness, _he_ needs to call me."

I nodded briskly. "Got it. Will you be able to call for her, or will I need to go get her from class?"

"If you don't mind, I'll send you to do it. She's in Mr. Grizzle's chemistry class. Room 115. Need a map?"

I pursed my lips. "Nope. I think I can manage to find it on my own. Thanks Miss Bedfordshire."

I turned on my heel and walked out of the office. Of course Cassie was in chemistry. I could already feel the eyes of Mr. Grizzle piercing me. I growled under my breath and straightened up. I was a big boy-and I could handle the questions. After all, I had been for seven years. I reached the door and raised my hand, knocking calmly three times.

"Enter," I hear from behind the closed door. Squaring my shoulders, I grabbed the door knob and twisted, pushing the door open. I stuck my head in and said shortly, "Hello Mr. Grizzle. May I borrow Cassie please?"

I watched Cassie raise her eyebrow at me as her head whipped around to look at her teacher expectantly.

"Rider. Did you visit the school secretary? Or did you just walk in?"

"I discussed pulling Cassie out of class with Miss Bedfordshire, if that's what you're asking." I tilted my head to the side and stared him down. As his eyes bore into me, I looked past him and noticed Cass rolling her eyes to the ceiling.

"So can I go, Mr. Grizzle?"

He shook his head, startled. He blinked and turned his head. "Sure you can," his eyes met mine again, "any idea when she'll be back?"

"It actually depends on when Cassie wants to come back. Could be tomorrow, could be in a few days." I looked at her and cocked my head. Nodding, she picked up her book bag.

I wondered how I was going to tell her that her father was in hospital. I took a deep breath, holding the door open for her. She ducked under my arm and I let it fall to my side. I turned around to follow her, but felt the air shift by my ear instead. I braced myself, pressing down the urge to respond, as Grizzle put his hand on my shoulder. He let the door shut behind him and I immediately heard murmurs start up from inside the room.

"I'd love the opportunity to talk to you when I don't have a classroom full of children listening in."

"Unfortunately, I am on my way out. Cassie and I have somewhere to be at the moment. Maybe some other time would be more convenient for the both of us?"

"Yes, I appreciate that," he countered. "Could I possibly have your cellular number?"

I stared at him. "I am actually between phones currently." I resisted the urge to grin at the opportune, yet true, excuse. My cell phone had fallen out of my pocket as I had kneeled down to pick up Snake. It was quickly then crushed under stampeding feet. _Oh darn._ Hmm, you know, it's probably a bad sign when your inner voice starts speaking fluently in sarcasm.

"How does this sound; I will be in contact with you when I purchase a new phone." With that, I turned around to the waiting Cassie and ushered her away from Grizzle. I could feel his eyes on my back. Finally, a rustle of clothes indicated he had turned around to head back into the classroom. My tense shoulders loosened, I fell into step beside Cassie.

We walked towards the front door together, an uneasy silence between us.

"So, why am I being pulled out of school? Something happen to dad?"

"You know, it's nice to know that someone in this school cares enough about your well-being to question each person that comes to pick you up."

She glared at me from underneath her eyelashes. I sighed.

"Your dad is going to be fine. He's back in the country. But unfortunately, he is in hospital…quite unconscious. It's nothing serious. We're just waiting for him to wake up at this point. I simply wanted to let you know where he was and take you to visit him."

Cassie sucked in a deep breath.

"Yeah, I know. It's tough, kiddo. Ready to go?"

A true sign of how rattled Cassie was; she didn't call me on calling her kiddo.

Cassie let in another deep breath. As she let it out, she popped her neck on both sides and said, "Let's go."


	7. Chapter 7

**Cassie's Perspective:**

I woke up slowly, stiff, with a crick in my neck. My leg was casually thrown over the arm of the hard-backed plastic chair. Groaning, I opened my eyes to the bright white walls surrounding me. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and looked around…at least…I tried to look around but the cramp in my neck protested. I groaned again and heard someone clear their throat behind me. My head whipped around and I saw stars. Blinking, I waited for the stars to clear and spotted Alex standing in the doorway. He moved to enter the room and I looked around, searching for the clock.

Finally spotting one, I threw my head around to glare at Alex. Six in the bloody morning was no time to wake up a sleeping teenager, father in hospital or not. He simply raised his eyebrow at me and kept walking. He picked up dad's chart and started skimming through it. Watching him out of the corner of my eye, I walked over to the mirror and started putting myself back together. I tried to flatten out my hair with only some water and my hands, but alas, some things just weren't meant to be. I put some tooth paste on my finger and ran it across my teeth. Finishing my morning ablutions, I turned back to Alex as he was putting the chart back on the bed.

"I think-,"

"I want to-,"

We both froze and grinned at each other.

He waved his hand in my direction, allowing me to speak my mind first.

"Well, since you woke me up and there isn't a change in dad's position, I think I should go to school."

He nodded slowly. "I was going to recommend the same thing. Would you like me to drive you after we find breakfast?"

"Would you? That'd be great."

He nodded and we headed down to the cafeteria to find the hospital's version of scrambled eggs.

We left St. Dominic's and he took me back to my house to grab a quick change of clothes. I scrambled around, tripping over my bunched up rug which never managed to lay flat. Finally dressed, I rushed out of the house, hopped into Alex's car, and slammed the door shut.

He cocked an eyebrow at me, "Everything okay?"

I hmphed, crossed my arms, and looked straight ahead. "Don't worry about it."

I sat back and relaxed as I let Alex be my personal chauffeur for ten minutes.

He pulled up in front of the school and dropped me off with a quiet, "Keep your phone on you. I'll call you if anything happens. If not, I'll see you here at school's end."

As he pulled away, I couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. I turned around to face the school, only to notice several pairs of eyes on me. Eyes shut in defeat, I resigned myself to being the focal point of today's Brookland gossip.

* * *

It had been a very long day. I twisted my neck to get the kinks out and stood, facing the door to the chemistry room. Gathering myself, I took a deep breath and took the last few steps to the door. I rushed in and took my seat while I waited for everyone around me to get settled in. I sat there, tense, waiting for the storm to break and the flood to rain down upon me.

* * *

…Nothing happened. I waited the entire period. It wasn't possible that the class could have gone this particular stretch of time without asking where I had headed off to, who I had gone with, if I was dying, etc. Mr. Grizzle must have said something to the class because instead of gathering around and questioning me, they were glancing at me furtively from underneath their eyelashes. Personally, I would have preferred to answer their questions. My shoulders tense from the scrutiny, the bell finally ringing was a godsend. I packed up my materials and headed out of the class, only to be stopped my Mr. Grizzle on the way out.

* * *

"Cassie, I didn't say anything yesterday because I knew you were in a hurry, but the man you're with…I guess he's your guardian at the moment? I really would love to speak to him but he never asked for my number. He simply said he would contact me. Would you please give him my business card?" He pulled out a card and handed it to me.

I took it and tried not to grin. I knew Uncle Cub didn't need the business card. He had this nasty habit of finding things that would be impossible for others to come across. If Cub intended to call Grizzle, he would call Grizzle, business card or not.

"Sure, Mr. Grizzle. I'll give it to him the next time I see him." And I would…and we would both laugh about it for a bit.

"If that's all…"

"Yes, of course. Will I be seeing you tomorrow?"

"It depends. See, my dad is in hospital. My uncle just picked me up so I could go see him. If his condition remains constant, then I'll be in school."

"I see. Well, my best wishes then," Grizzle turned and walked back to his desk.

Blinking, I lightly shook my head and walked out of the classroom.

* * *

I walked out of the school and looked around for Uncle Cub's Audi. Spotting it almost immediately, I walked to it, dodging all attempts at being drawn into conversation. I opened the door and hopped in. Before the door was even closed, Alex hit the gas and we peeled out of the parking lot. Pressed into the back of my seat, I grinned.

"So…Alex, Mr. Grizzle stopped me again today."

"And how did that go?"

"Well, he handed me this," and I pulled out the business card. Flipping it so that he could see what was on it, I grinned. "He really would like to speak with you."

I watched as his eyes narrowed. He took in the business card and rolled his eyes. "Of course he wants to talk to me. If I keep dragging you out of class, I'd imagine the whole administrative staff would want to talk to me."

I kept my lips shut. _No, I'm pretty sure that's not why he wants to talk to you, Alex…_

"Well, will you call him and get him off my back? He's making life hard…"

I could tell he was weighing the pros and cons in his head. He cocked his head to the side and nodded slightly. I dropped the card in a cup holder and dropped the subject. The rest of the trip to St. Dominic's was spent with mindless chatter.

* * *

**Alex's Perspective:**

I dropped Cassie off at the door and drove around looking for a parking spot. Finding one, I zipped in and turned off my car. I sat there for a second. I knew Grizzle didn't want to talk to me about pulling Cassie out of class. I sighed and picked up the card. He sure was making things easy. The business card spared me a few minutes of searching and everything. I pulled me new phone out of my pocket and dialed the number as I got out of my car. As I locked my door, Grizzle picked up.

"Hello?"

"I heard you wanted to speak to me?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone. I mentally started counting to see how long it would take him to collect his thoughts. Eight seconds later he cleared his breath.

"Ahh, Mr. Rider I presume?"

"Hello Mr. Grizzle. Long time no see."

"Indeed," I started walking towards St. Dominic's door. "What can I help you with sir?"

"Well, Mr. Rider, frankly, I'd like to know what's going on. What is your relationship with Cassie McMan?"

"I am a friend of her father who is unfortunately in hospital right now. I simply came to pick her up as a favor for a friend."

"And am I ever going to find out what you got up to during school?"

"To what are you referring, Mr. Grizzle?"

"Your frequent absences, Mr. Rider."

At this point, I was outside the door. I hung a left and sat down on a bench. "As I stated repeatedly, Mr. Grizzle, I do, in fact, have a poor immune system. It simply took the shock of my uncle's death to kick in. It's a most unfortunate dilemma but luckily I've learned to live with it."

"Rider, you and I both know that's horseshit."

I raised an eyebrow at his bluntness.

"I'm slightly confused, Mr. Grizzle. What does my illness have to do with the current state of affairs at Brookland?"

"Absolutely nothing. I'm just trying to satisfy my curiosity."

"I'm afraid there is nothing to this itch…so you might as well scratch it now and resign yourself to finding someone else's story to excite yourself with. If you continue to live vicariously through me, you won't be seeing much except the inside of hospitals for a long time to come." With that, I stood up and moved towards the door.

"If that is all, Mr. Grizzle…"

He spluttered on the phone for a second.

"Alex Rider, there is something to you. I will figure out what it is. No one is this secretive."

I continued walking, rolling my eyes as I entered St. Dominic's.

"I can assure you, Mr. Grizzle," raising my voice as a nurse came over the loud speaker, "you can search, but there is nothing to find. With that, I must bid you good day. It was a pleasure catching up with you."

I clicked my phone shut and strode to the elevator, a slight spring in my step for the first time all day.

* * *

**Grizzle's Perspective:**

I looked at my phone as I heard a click on the other end. _The nerve…_ I put my phone down and stared at it while I thought over what I had just heard.

_Nothing to find…huh?_ I grinned. Opening my desk, I located a sticky note and a pen. I quickly jotted down 'St. Dominic's' before I forgot. I turned on the monitor of my computer and opened up my Google tab. Before I could go any further, however, the student I had given detention to for setting his chemistry book on fire entered the room. I minimized the window and decided to wait till I got home to do any further research. Taking the sticky note off the top of the pack, I folded it and put it in my pocket. I would consult it later.

* * *

I got to my flat that night and immediately booted up my laptop. Typing in my password, I paced around my living room floor as I waited to Firefox to load. Like a magnet being attracted to its' polar opposite, the second the internet had loaded, I zoomed to my chair. I typed St. Dominic's into the search bar and started skimming through the 125,000 some-odd results. _Hmm…looks here like this is predominantly a military hospital for private personnel only. There's an interesting tidbit._

My research continued for a solid hour longer before I resigned myself to the fact that not much information was forth-coming. I sat back in my chair and rubbed my neck for a bit, concocting a plan to beat all other plans. I stood up and stretched my back. Oh yes, my plan would be brilliant. It all depended on Cassie not showing up to school tomorrow.

I briefly considered the ramifications of my moral conscience in hoping that Mr. McMan's health took a turn for the worse. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. _Oh well…I'll deal with it tomorrow._ Closing down the computer, I pushed my chair into the desk and walked into the kitchen. _Yes…I'll definitely deal with it tomorrow…_

Mind elsewhere, I didn't even notice that I poured orange juice into my cereal until after I took a bite.

* * *

The day inched by. Never has a school day lasted this long. Not even mass testing days or my first day when I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and all the students to start acting like wild animals. I glanced at the clock every two minutes, hoping it was magically time for Cassie McMan to make her normal appearance in my classroom. Unfortunately, as I am not a 907 year old Time Lord with the ability to travel through time, the clock ticked by as per usual.

When the time for Cassie's class finally arrived, she didn't come through the door. I silently thanked the heavens and called out, "Sam, if you'd please stay after?" Seeing him nod, I started my lecture.

* * *

"Sam, your lab partner isn't here today. Unfortunately, her father is in hospital and I must get her school work to her."

"No problem, Mr. Grizzle. Which hospital?"

"Mr. McMan is currently located at St. Dominic's. Do you know where it is?"

"Sure. I bike by there on my way home every day."

"Splendid. Will you please take an extra chemistry book with you and relay the homework assignment to her?"

"Of course. I'll even stick around to tutor her if she needs it."

"Excellent…excellent," I steepled my fingers. "Sam, might I make a slightly more…informal request of you as well?"

He simply cocked his head.

"While you are there with Cassie, will you simply keep an ear out and report back anything you hear about her temporary guardian or her father's condition. I'd love to know when she's planning on coming back and any other odd details you could find out."

"I'll look into it Mr. Grizzle."

He turned, grabbed an extra book, shouldered his book bag, and walked from the room.

I nodded to myself and got back to work.


	8. Chapter 8

**Snake's Perspective:**

Everything I've ever read gives the impression that when one wakes up from a deep sleep or a coma, they're extremely fuzzy from the pain and the painkillers. Truth of the matter is, I went from asleep to awake in a split second when I heard a noise to the left of my head. My head whipped around and my world exploded in a riot of color. Now I understood. Groaning, my eyes clenched shut to ignore the grin I knew would be gracing Cub's face. Tossing my head around had not been my best idea. Keeping my eyes closed, I slowly put my head back on the pillow.

"Morning, sunshine..."

I could literally hear the grin on his face.

I moved to raise my arm in an attempt to flip him off, only to discover that moving my arm wasn't really an option. Confused for a second, I asked, "What happened?"

I heard the scraping of a chair and an exhale of breath. Preparing myself, I reviewed what I knew already. I had been in Egypt. I had gotten shot and then trampled. Alex had picked me up and taken me to the safe house. After that, it was a blur.

"Well, you got yourself shot..."

"Start after the safe house, I remember everything before that."

"Right. I got you to the safe house and you blacked out. I did all I could to keep you stable until we could get out of Egypt. Took three days but I finally got you here. They operated the second I brought you in two days ago. I already let Cass know. She went to school yesterday, but the nurses told us you'd be up today, so I let her stay here. Currently she is at the cafeteria. Welcome back to the land of the living."

I thought this over for a little bit. Fighting the urge to nod, I simply stated, "Thanks, Alex."

"No problem. The way I see it, I owed you. You took a bullet for me. And I'll keep owing you for a long time to come. It was the least I could do."

"Agreed. I hate bullet wounds."

He snorted. Guess he thought I was kidding.

"Anyway, the doctor said that you're going to be fine. The bullet didn't hit anything too terribly important. With a bit of physical training, you should be right as rain and ready to work again."

"Goody. Does that mean I'll be stuck behind a desk until I can go out again?"

"No clue! Us undercover guys do things differently."

I slowly turned my head towards him. "You sound entirely too happy about this."

"Not happy. Just...glad it wasn't me. Thanks, Josh."

Working my head back onto the pillow I mumbled, "Don't mention it."

We sat in silence for a bit while I turned the events of the past five days over in my head. The silence was split by an exaggerated, "Dad!"

I turned my head again, stomach rolling as the stars appeared in front of my eyes again. I fought the urge to vomit as Cub burst into laughter in the corner of the room.

"Shut the front door*," I grumbled under my breath, acknowledging that my daughter was in the room and that she was trying not to giggle as well.

She waited for the laughing to die down before asking "Hey dad...how are you feeling?"

Renewed snorts came from Cubs side of the room. Deftly ignoring him, I responded, "Been better, Cass. I missed you. How's life?"

She carefully sat down on the edge of my bed and filled me in on her life from the last two weeks while I had been abroad. It was comfortable, Cass, Cub, and I. Our dysfunctional family. Of course any moment of peace to be had naturally had to be interrupted. A knock on the door brought a stereo, "Come in," from all three of us. A teenager I had never met before poked his head in the door.

"Sam?" Cassie exclaimed.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Cub's hand inching away from his waistline. I was, once again, comforted by the safety precautions Alex took in protecting myself and my only daughter. I looked at him solemnly and he caught my eye. He nodded casually and looked back at the two conversing teenagers.

"What are you doing here?"

"Grizzle asked me to bring you your school work so that you didn't fall behind."

Cassie's eyes narrowed. "I'll be in class tomorrow. I'm not going to fall behind."

"Well, he didn't know when you'd be coming back. I think he just wanted to play it safe. You know how he is..."

"Sure, I know how he is."

"Anyway, here's the assignment. Do you think you're going to need any help on it?"

I saw her glimpse at the paper and start grinning. "Nope, I think I'm all set. Thanks for coming. Want me to walk you out?" With this question, she glimpsed at me and smiled mischievously.

Sam looked utterly confused. "Uhh...no. I think I'll be good. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

With that, he turned and walked away.

The second the door snapped closed, Cassie's eyes flew to mine.

"What was that all about," I asked.

She responded, "Grizzle is the nosiest person I know. I don't know what you two were talking about before I walked in, but there's no telling how long he was standing out there listening. Hope it wasn't anything too important. I bet you anything that he was sent here by Grizzle to spy because of the phone call between you two" and with that, she looked at Alex who rolled his eyes.

"He needs to get off his high horse and get over the fact that he won't be getting any answers from me."

I got the distinct feeling I was missing something but when I caught Alex's eye to get an explanation, he discretely shook his head and I dropped the topic. Apparently Cass didn't get the memo though.

"You ever going to tell me what the two of you talked about?"

Alex grinned, "Well that would be taking all the fun out of the situation, now wouldn't it?"

Cassie huffed and crossed her arms.

"So what is your homework on?" Distraction is one of my specialties.

"Nice change of subject, Dad."

Okay, so maybe not.

I held strong. "Either way, whatever your homework is, you must already know it since you said you didn't need him to tutor you..."

"Actually, you're wrong. I don't know it. But considering the fact that it's an entire lesson on how to use chemicals to clean water so that it's safe to drink, I figured I'd have a few people around who might be able to help me who weren't sent to spy on us..."

"Excellent thinking, Cass! Let's get started, shall we?" Cub pulled his chair closer and tucked his head over the homework assignment. He skimmed through it quickly and snorted. He picked up the paper to look on the other side. Finding it blank, he scoffed. "This is simple. Let's get to it."

"Don't do it for her Cub."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Josh."

And with that, we settled in for a quiet evening of family time.

* * *

**Sam's Perspective**

I arrived at school early today in order to report back to Mr. Grizzle what I had overheard. I knocked on his door and waited for him to wave me in.

"Morning, sir."

"Good morning, Mr. Rubenstein. Did you get Cassie's homework to her?"

"Sure did. And she told me that she would be back in class today so that she doesn't fall behind. She didn't need any help with tutoring, so I gave her the homework and left."

"Excellent, and did you find out what happened with her father."

"I overheard that he got shot...more than once. I think he was taking a bullet for the other guy in the room...the one that came in to pick Cassie up the other day, I think you called him Rider? Anyway, I think he took a bullet for Mr. McMan because Rider said something like, 'I owe you.' and Cassie's dad agreed."

Mr. Grizzle nodded slowly. "Thanks, Sam."

"No problem. Is that all, Mr. Grizzle?"

He didn't respond. He looked like he was thinking too hard. Confused, I said, "See you in class, sir." and walked out.

I left him with a contemplative look on his face. Worried for a second that I had betrayed Cassie's trust, my mouth twisted into a grimace which I then shook off. Her dad's injuries should be common knowledge, right? Weren't medical records open to the public? I wove through the growing crowd to get to my locker and quickly forgot all about Mr. McMan as I began thinking about the upcoming test I was to have in ten minutes.

* * *

**A/N:**

***The show Castle coined this phrase to replace the inappropriate-for-television phrase that involves cursing. While I, personally, have no problems saying it…I figured once Cassie walked in the room, her dad would be more conscientious of the 16 year old in the room.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Grizzle's Perspective**

Plan half concocted, I awaited the bell signifying the beginning of a new class period. I hadn't really had a good night. Unfortunately when my head is filled with students' issues, sleep is hard to come by. I could feel my eyelids pressing down over my eyes as students filed into my classroom for their daily chemistry lesson. I made a split second decision to hit the students with a pop quiz so I wouldn't have to teach today. I opened up my computer and dug through some of my archived files to find a pop quiz that I could use.

Acids and bases, atomic structure, the elements, measurements and conversions...ahh! I selected one that I hadn't used in years. Perfect. Hitting print, I scanned the crowd to find a willing volunteer.

"Trisha, would you come here please?"

I grabbed the paper off the printer and stuck it in a folder.

"Will you take this to the copy room please and make sixty copies of it, please?"

"Sure, Mr. Grizzle."

She walked out decisively.

As I awaited her return, I took attendance quickly. Noting Cassie's filled seat, my thoughts shifted back to the plan I had yet to complete. I reviewed what I knew for sure.

Alex Rider had all but dropped out of school due to mysterious circumstances that had never been explained. Cassie knew the infamous Alex Rider...and obviously not just in passing, as she had a nickname for him. Alex knew Mr. McMan as well. Mr. McMan had gotten shot twice and ended up in hospital. Alex had been there when he had been shot and took full responsibility for it. With her dad shot, Cassie had only taken a single day off of school and seemed perfectly calm about it now. She certainly acted at ease, for knowing a family member was in hospital. Perhaps she was used to these kinds of things?

Interrupting his musings, Trisha handed him a stack of stapled quizzes.

"Here you go, Grizzle."

"Thanks Trisha."

I stood up, gripping the quizzes in hand.

"Good afternoon."

Facing the class, a few murmured in response.

"Well, I'm about as tired as you guys sound...but luckily I've got my degree. Unfortunately, you guys don't."

I raised the quizzes in one hand.

"I have here a pop quiz. Everyone is to take it, don't forget to write your name, and turn it over when you're done."

When the collective groan hit my ears, I stifled a grin.

"Alright. None of that. I have to make sure you're learning somehow!"

I handed the stack to Trisha and she passed out the papers. I sat back down and pressed the palms of my hands into my eyes. Shaking my head, I popped my knuckles and burrowed back into my computer, only looking up to scan the masses for wandering eyes. When everyone was done, I gathered up the quizzes and let the masses talk amongst themselves. As I passed Cassie's desk, I quietly muttered, "I'd love to speak to you after class again."

Her head dropped.

"You aren't in trouble. I just want to talk to you."

Shoulders still down, she twisted her head to look at me with raised eyebrows.

I raised mine in response.

"Sure thing, Grizzle."

I nodded and moved on, awaiting yet dreading the end of the period.

Never had I ever had to have one of these discussions with a student before. I had heard of other teachers that had gone through this situation before and came out better for it. Yet I was daunted at the prospect of talking to Cassie one-on-one and offering my minimal services. Doing research online helped a little, but mostly I was winging it.

As the bell rang and my students made their daily mad dash to the door, Cassie strolled up to my desk and stated, "You wanted to speak with me?"

"Yeah, pull up a seat."

She grabbed the nearest desk chair and pulled it over, sliding gracefully into it and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yes sir?"

"Cassie..." I had only just begun and I already needed to pause to gather my thoughts. Goodness. "I just wanted to ask you some questions about your home life."

"Okay...shoot."

I saw her wince. Poor word choice there. I ignored it for the moment. "You live with your dad, right?"

"Correct."

"And what does he do for a living?"

She paused, taking a moment to scratch her ear. "He, uhh...works in shipping."

"And how long has he worked in shipping?"

Without skipping a beat, she replied, "Eight years."

"I see. Being in the shipping business involves some pretty crazy hours. I have a friend who works down at the docks. Do you ever get to see him?"

"Not as often as I like, admittedly...but I see him whenever he isn't working. He has nowhere else to go and no one else to see, so he always comes straight home when he gets off duty. Calls me his number one girl."

"Must be nice, just the two of you..."

"Gets a bit lonely, actually."

"So does he ever have friends over?"

Her eyes widened a tad. "Mr. Grizzle, why are you asking about my dad and his friends or lack-thereof?"

I recognized the evasion for what it was... "Cassie," I rubbed my eyes, "I realize you're sixteen years old. You're a young adult and can think for yourself. I just wanted to let you know that I am here for you if you need anything."

She stared at me blankly. I decided to take another stab at it.

"I realize your father is in hospital. I'm under the impression that he was shot. I just wanted you to know that if there's anything wrong with your home life, if you don't feel safe about something, you can tell me...or any teacher for that matter, and we can help you."

Why was she looking at me like an idiot?

"Let me get this straight. You heard that my dad was in hospital, saw my dad's friend, the mysterious Alex Rider, come pick me up to tell me, and you automatically assumed something's wrong with my home life?"

She had the gall to snort in laughter.

"Sorry, Mr. Grizzle." She chuckled some more. "Thank you for looking out for me, but know that your head is completely in the wrong place. I'm perfectly fine at home, and my dad's perfectly fine as well. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's on the mend and should be getting out any day now."

I stared at her. Not a blank stare but more of a stare down, like...'I know there's something you're not telling me.'

Her eyes glared straight back, hard and unyielding with still a trace of humor in them.

I gave in, nodding. "In that case, know my door is open anytime and you are free to go."

She gathered her bags and moved the chair back to its original position. "Thanks, Mr. Grizzle...for everything."

"No problem, Cassie."

Tuning her out as she walked out the door, I immediately flicked the power button to my monitor and watched as the browser pulled up my last opened tab. Quickly weighing my options, I took one last deep breath and grabbed the phone off of the desk.

I punched in the number and waited till someone picked up.

"Child Protection Services, this is Ramona speaking."

"Ramona, you said? My name is David Grizzle and I am a teacher at a private school in Britain. I would like to report a potential hostile environment regarding one of my students."


	10. Chapter 10

**Ramona's Perspective**

It's a hard living when children are the only ones that like you...and sometimes, not even them. You're always unexpected, intruding in peoples' lives when you aren't wanted. But it's a necessary task, one that I gladly take on with pleasure. Well, maybe less pleasure and more sheer determination and resignation. Without a case, the sheer monotony of my day was getting to me. I had recently closed out an open-shut investigation and I had finished all of my paperwork that morning. I was, quite efficiently, winning a game of solitaire on my computer as the phone rang.

Now, let me explain my job to you. About 75% of the time, the calls I get are reporting rumors and falsities that I investigate for all of a day before determining that nothing is wrong. However, the other 25% of the time, I get a legitimate report from an anonymous source that leads to an extremely laborious process of getting a child out of a dangerous home. Either way, when I answer the phone, it gives me something to do or even think about...outside of diamonds and spades. That said, when the phone started ringing, I leapt at it.

"Child Protection Services, this is Ramona speaking."

I listened as this teacher spun a tale that started five years before. As he went on and on, I started taking notes, becoming intrigued by the elaborate story that he wove spanning two generations of students.

As his narrative drew to a close, I looked down at the notes I had taken. I was to investigate a girl named Cassandra McMan, nicknamed Cassie. She attended Brooklands School. Her father was named Josh McMan. Cassie had said that her dad worked in shipping at the docks. Her teacher, David Grizzle, had noticed that her father was hanging around with someone who had previously been labeled a troublemaker and possible gang member; a man by the name of Alex Rider. Rider had picked up Cassie one day at school and taken her to see her dad in the hospital as he had been recently shot and felt responsible for it.

From there, all I had was speculation but I had worked with less before. I started nodding, thoughts flying in my head.

"I will definitely look into it Mr. Grizzle. Thank you for reporting this to us. I will do everything in my power to find out what's going on. Have a nice day."

I hung up the phone, closed out of my solitaire window (who was I kidding, I was losing anyway...), and opened up the CPS network.

"Cassandra...McMan..." I mumbled as I typed it into the database. Very little popped up, showing that an investigation had never been opened with her name attached to it. Not surprising; her name hadn't rung any bells in my head. Just to be one hundred percent certain that I could put that in her report, I searched her fathers' name as well.

_Josh McMan, 34 years old, married and divorced, one child (Cassandra McMan), job: classified._

I stopped at that, blinking. Classified?

I hit backspace quickly and typed in the last name David had given to me.

_Alex Rider, 21 years old._

I blinked again. Wait...what? I kept clicking, hit backspace and searched again, to the same results. What in the world? I hit the print button and went to the printer to gather the single paper. Marching up to my boss, I determinedly shoved the paper at his face.

"Aaron, is there any reason in particular that we would have next-to-no information on this man?"

He took the paper from me and squinted at it. I picked up his glasses and put them in his hand. Accepting his thanks, I sat down in front of his desk awaiting an answer.

I got more and more impatient as he hemmed and hawed. Finally, I up and asked "Well"? His eyes narrowed and he looked up at me once more.

"Do you have any other leads in whatever case you're working?"

"Sure, I have two other names. A father and daughter. Rider's just suspected to be a family friend or work buddy."

"Excellent. I'll do some research into this Rider fellow and you look into the other two. I'll get back to you as soon as I know something."

"Thanks, Aaron."

"Don't mention it," he said half-heartedly, attention already diverted to his phone book. I took my leave from the room and went back to my cubicle. Sitting down, I pulled in my chair, popped my knuckles, popped my neck, and got down to business.

* * *

Working with limited information is never easy. Especially limited information of the classified variety. However, I wasn't in this business for easy. After I had visited Aarons' office, I had done intensive internet and database research to recover more information about the mysterious Josh McMan. I'd had tougher cases.

I pulled up to the curb across the street from the subjects house. Settling in for the long haul, I made sure my radio was on (as were my shades), my drink stocked and my snacks readily available. Pulling out a crisp, I scanned the immediate area. As it was only 7:15 in the morning, there was very little visual activity. I recalled that Cassie left for school at around 7:45 so as to get to Brookland on time. Nonetheless, 7:45 came and went, as did 8:00. Not only did no one emerge from the domicile but there were no signs of activity in the house either. Great. So it was going to be one of _those_ days. I let my head fall to the steering wheel and groaned. From there, I reached blindly to the passenger seat for another crisp, distantly realizing that I could have eaten a real breakfast before staking out the house.

I took a gulp of my coffee and resumed my vigil.

_8:09. Only four hours till I had to report back to my boss._

* * *

**Alex's Perspective**

I had promised myself to the McMan family for the foreseeable future...at least until Snake got off his lazy arse and started PT so he could take care of himself. As such, I had no problem taking Cassie to school that morning. I dropped her off at the school gates at 7:30 and raced back to the hospital, delighting in the thrum of the engine beneath my feet.

Today was the day Josh was getting out of St. Dominic's. We hadn't told Cass. He wanted to surprise his daughter. He had already checked himself out as I pulled up back in front of the Emergency Room driveway. I rushed out to grab his bag and tossed it into the boot. He slid into the car and sighed.

"I cannot _wait_ till I get to sleep in my own bed."

I chuckled and drove away from hospital as Snake settled back and closed his eyes.

At exactly 8:08 in the morning, I drove down Josh's street, past his house, pulled into the drive way and unloaded my human cargo.

Trying not to jar any of the pictures on the wall, I helped Snake up the stairs, shoved him into his bed, walked across the hall and without turning on a single light, tumbled into the guest bed and fell asleep, exhausted.

* * *

**Ramona's Perspective**

Not exactly one to give up after one day, I packed up my supplies and headed back to the office. I walked into Aaron's office and sat down in front of his desk. "Any luck?" I asked shortly.

He bit his lip in contemplation. "Well, I did a little research. I didn't find much."

I contained my groan. "Alright. What did you find?"

"Well, he travels a lot. He's licensed to carry a concealed hand gun. Don't know if he has a license to drive. I couldn't even confirm that 21 is his real age. I will keep looking, but I'm quickly running out of resources. How are you coming on your end?"

"Next to nothing. I went to the house this morning and sat there for five hours. The house was empty. No one came home. So I packed up and came back. I plan on going again tomorrow."

"Alright," he responded. "Just try one more day and we'll go from there."

I nodded succinctly. "Sure, boss."

* * *

The next day I was parked in the same spot waiting for something...anything to happen. I was rewarded at about 7:45 when the front door of the house opened and a teenager and older man walked out. The man was in his mid-thirties and had a sling around his arm. That must have been Josh which logically would make the teenager his daughter Cassie. I watched as they walked down the front walk way and turned towards Brookland school.

_Perfect._

As soon as they were out of eyesight I grabbed my gloves and got out of the car.

I only wanted to get the scope of who I was investigating. Knowing I wasn't allowed to touch anything, I made short work of the house, looking inside all the windows. Their house had minimal furniture and very little personal possessions. There were only two pictures on the wall, both of Josh and his daughter. The first was Cassie when she was younger, playing on a swing set with Josh behind pushing her higher and the other was one of Josh in military fatigues at the airport hugging his daughter who looked about a bit older. Outside of those, there were dishes in the sink, but not an overwhelming amount. Shoes had been placed by the door and coats were hung up in the entry way. I pursed my lips.

Not noticing anything else abnormal, I headed back to the car. I yanked the gloves off and tossed them into the passenger seat. I hopped into my car with just enough time to get it started before Mr. McMan came ambling around the corner by himself. As he walked up his front entry way, I pulled out of my parking spot.

* * *

"So from the house I gathered that the dad is neat but not compulsively. There were some dishes in the sink and shoes by the door but he's been in hospital for a few days and seemingly out of the country before that, so it's understandable. His house is barely furnished and only the two of them live there. Apparently it's only been the two of them for a long time because there isn't a single picture of a mother anywhere on the first floor of the house. He appears to have been in the military at some time. Don't know if he still is. And I have no idea which branch he was in, but I saw a picture of him in fatigues. That would explain why his job was listed as classified. When it comes to military families, I mean, if he _is_ still serving...who watches the girl while he's away?"

"A perfectly valid ques..."

Standing up, I interrupted, "Yes, but at her age, she's almost reached her majority. So even if we did find out that she's been left home alone, at most we could remove her from the household for a year. It really wouldn't make all that much of a difference!"

"We still have to inves..."

I started pacing. "And I realize that I still have to investigate. I'm just getting frustrated. I feel like at every turn, I'm being thwarted from the information that I should be finding. No information should be classified from Child Protection Services."

"I agree. That's why we have contacts that we can call upon..."

I continued, "And yet those contacts aren't helping you much either. We know he travels. He could be a banker. He could be in real estate. We know he has a car but we don't know his age. He looks young. Are we even sure he's reached _his_ majority? We don't really know anything!" I whipped my head around to stare at him and threw my hands into the air.

Aaron just looked at me.

"What?"

"I'm waiting to see if you're done talking."

I blushed. Nodding sheepishly, I sat back down in the chair.

"Right. I have a few more people I can ask. For now we will keep on keeping on. I want you to go to the house one more time. Visit when Cassie isn't there. See what you can find out about Josh's time in the armed forces. From there, we'll devise a plan."

I nodded.

"You are dismissed."

Nodding again, I stood and walked out of the office. As I got to the door I heard "Ramona..."

I paused in the doorway, back still to him.

"I'm getting a really strange feeling about this case. Keep digging, but don't get too close. I'd hate for anything to happen to you."

I took a deep breath and kept on walking.

* * *

**Alex's Perspective**

I pulled up to Snake's house at 9:45 and sat in front of the house with engine idling for a second. I glanced around, looking for anything suspicious before getting out of the car. Finding nothing, I turned off the engine and sauntered up the walkway. I rang the doorbell and waited till the door opened to show Snake's face.

"What?"

"Oh hush." I pushed my way in.

I could feel the eye roll behind me as he shut the door.

I walked into the kitchen and helped myself to a glass of water. As I turned, I leaned back, resting my lower back on the counter. I looked into my glass and asked, "So, how you feeling?"

He scoffed and leaned against the opposite counter. "I feel fine. I want to take the sling off but the doctor said..."

"One more week. Yeah, I know. But hell, I never listen to the doctors."

"That's because you're a horrible child who doesn't respect his elders."

I snorted. "Yeah, sure. Because MI6 gives me time to fully recover _every single time_ I get hurt. That's an accurate assessment."

He grinned at me. I grinned back. As we both burst into laughter, he moved towards me as if to cuff me on the head. I ducked out of the way and headed into the living room. "Come on, McMan. Let's see if anything's on the telly."

* * *

At 3:00 we heard the front door open and we both half rose from the couch, my hand automatically going to the gun that I had placed on the coffee table.

"Dad? Cub? You here?"

I quickly but carefully shoved the gun in the seams in the couch as Snake stated in a slightly raised voice, "In the living room."

She walked in and sat on the love seat. After two minutes of sitting in peace, my phone started ringing. Hearing the generic ringtone instead of a specialized one, I glanced at it tensely.

Josh, sensing the movement, gained Cassie's attention and got up to go to the kitchen. Cassie followed without complaint, looking over her shoulder at me as she walked out of the room.

"Rider."

"Hey Alex. It's Ben. You somewhere you can talk?"

"Yes."

"Word around the office is that you're involved in a Child Protection Services case."

"Excuse me?"

"Somebody has been snooping around trying to find out information about you."

"What about?"

"No clue. Just know that it's a guy named Aaron."

"You're telling me that a random guy named Aaron from Child Protection Services is snooping around...about me? But I don't have a kid!" Heat rushed to my face. "...I couldn't possibly!"

"I don't know kid. I do know that he hasn't found out anything important. I mean, how could he. But I just wanted you to know to be on the lookout. IE, don't kill anyone who's following you, because they more than likely don't know what they're dealing with and they don't really need to know."

"Sure. Thanks."

"Don't mention it. You at Snake's place?"

"Yeah. I'll tell him you said hey."

"Thanks. Bye Alex."

I flipped the phone shut. Putting my head in my hands, I rubbed my eyes quickly and stood up. _No sense worrying about it now._ I walked into the kitchen.

"Everything alright?" Cassie asked.

"Perfectly fine, I think. Where'd your dad go?"

"To the bathroom. Don't worry. He didn't hear anything. But I couldn't help but overhear..."

At that moment Josh walked back into the room rubbing at his neck.

"You staying for dinner, Alex?"

My eyes drifted to Cassie and snapped back to Josh's. "Sure, I'd love to."

He nodded and walked back into the living room. Cassie stared at me hard. As I turned to follow Josh into the sitting area my thoughts started screaming. _Okay, she heard. Maybe it has something to do with her? Either way, I can't talk to her about it. I'll have to stick to Snake's side like glue. She won't bring up her eavesdropping in front of him._

I collapsed onto the couch, intent on following this plan all the way through dinner till I left to go home.

* * *

I didn't account for the fact that Snake's prescribed pain pills put him out like a light bulb. About thirty minutes after I left the house I was pulling into my garage as my cell phone rang. Knowing I couldn't ignore the call, I answered.

"Hey Cass."

"You know, Alex. You're not very subtle. I don't see how you get by as a spy when everything you do is as obvious as a bull in a china shop."

"Excuse me?" I put the car in park.

"You're avoiding me. Does it have to do with what I overheard during your phone call?"

"Hasn't your dad ever told you to _not_ listen in on important business calls?"

"Stop evading the question."

My head fell to the steering wheel. "Cassie, we can't talk about this over the phone."

"Well, if we don't talk, you're just going to go on another mission and I'm never going to get a straight answer from you."

I contemplated her completely accurate statement. "Tell you what. Tomorrow, we can go out for lunch and we will talk. For now, I'm going inside my house and going to bed. As should you. Good night Cassie."

"Night Cub."

I hung up the phone and my head fell backwards upon the headrest. _Oh goodness. What was I getting myself into?_

* * *

The next morning I still hadn't thought of a way to get out of the conversation with Cassie. Knowing I was fighting the inevitable, I called her and told her I'd pick her up at 11:30. As the time rolled by, I wondered who would be leading this discussion...her or me.

I pulled up in front of her house and honked. She barreled out of the front door, barely stopping long enough to shout a "bye dad!" back inside before slamming it shut and locking it. I reached over the seat and opened the passenger door for her. She hopped in and said, "Where to?"

"What are you feeling?"

"Italian"

"Alright." I peeled away from the curb and sped to my preferred Italian restaurant.

"So about yesterday..." Cassie started.

I held up my hand. "Let's wait till we're at the restaurant so that we don't have to stop once we start."

She nodded and kept silent. I did too, gathering my thoughts.

* * *

"I'll take the meatball marinara and a water."

"Same," I responded to her questioning gaze.

She nodded and walked away. I watched for as long as I could till I heard Cassie clear her throat. I closed my eyes and turned my head to face her.

"Alright. Go."

"What was the call about yesterday."

"What did you overhear?"

"Just that a guy from Child Protection Services is snooping around. You don't have a kid. What's it about?"

I gathered my thoughts. "I honestly don't know Cassie. It might have something to do with one of my cases..."

"But you don't believe that do you?" She interrupted.

"No."

She swallowed and nodded slowly. "Okay. You go."

"All I know is that I'm being investigated. It's nothing to worry about. Nothing will come of it. No one can touch me. And honestly, if they _could_ get to me, then they deserve it. You have no need to worry."

She nodded again but I could tell something was on her mind.

"Spit it out, Cass."

Words fell out of her mouth before she could stop them, "What if does have to do with me? What if they take away my dad because he left me home alone? What if someone actually thinks something is up? We don't know who reported it. We don't know anything! It could have been anyone! What if it was someone I know? A classmate? A teacher? A doctor from the hospital? Alex, I can't get taken away! I don't know what I would do! I...I..."

I reached over and grabbed her hand. "Cassie. Cass. Look at me." I stared at her as I waited for her to calm down.

"Alex, I can't get taken away from my dad. I wouldn't have anywhere to go."

"Cassandra McMan. I can tell you with 100 percent confidence that no one is going to take you away from your dad. If it takes everything I have...if I have to bring down Child Protection Services itself...I will not let them take you away. You have to know, you aren't alone. You've got your dad. You've got me. You've got Ben, Wolf and Eagle. You're going to be perfectly fine. No one can get through all of us. Not your classmates, not your teachers, and not even the doctors, though they wouldn't say anything."

I kept murmuring platitudes as the words slowly worked their way into her brain. We were interrupted by the arrival of our drinks. I think that, more than anything, is what brought Cassie out of her funk. As she looked at the waitress in confusion, I pushed the drink in front of her and put her hand on the glass. She blinked and took a drink. I nodded at our waitress and she walked off.

I let go of Cass's hand and wrapped mine around my glass as well, eyeing her across the table. Quite suddenly, she looked up and said, "So, I figured out that you're the Alex Rider that everyone talks about from Brookland."

I cocked my head to the side. "It wasn't a state secret. Well...actually..." I dropped off. I looked at her, semi-confused. "You know, actually. I guess it was." My eyes shifted to the left and then to the right. By the time my eyes returned to Cassie, she was giggling. "So don't tell anyone."

She snorted.

I let a grin grace my face and I started chuckling as well.

By the time our food came, Cassie and I were in full-on laughter mode.

We retired the serious conversation and spoke of lighter subjects until I dropped her off at her house and drove home.


	11. Chapter 11

**Cassandra's Perspective**

I woke up feeling refreshed the next day. I hadn't felt refreshed in a long while. I guess that's just the life you live when you're a teenager with a single dad...who's in the army, no less. So all in all, refreshed was nice. I hopped out of bed, pumped for school. (It's amazing what a little pep-talk from Cub could do.)

As I strode to school, whistling a jaunty tune, I thought over everything Alex and I had talked about the night before. It was as if a protective bubble had surrounded me. Nothing could touch me because Alex wouldn't let it. _Let CPS think what they will!_ And I laughed out loud.

I settled into homeroom, ready to take on the day.

* * *

It hit me in chemistry. Of _course_ Mr. Grizzle had been the one to spill the proverbial beans. He had been questioning me about my home life, sent people spying on me, only had half the story, and he totally knew that Alex was my acquaintance in some way. I sat in class pretending to take notes but in reality, scripting out what I was going to say when I confronted him.

_"How dare you assume about my home life. I told you nothing was going on! I'm 16 years old. I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for years and I don't need a nosy old busybody looking over my shoulder. You don't even know me. You don't know my situation. You don't know jack. So just back off!"_

I got so violent in my thoughts that I tore a hole through the paper in my binder. I silently growled and slammed the pen down on the ripped paper. Sam glanced at me from underneath his eyelashes. "Everything okay, Cassie?"

I whipped my head around and glared at him. I watched as he shrunk back from my gaze as if struck. My eyes narrowed as I shook my head lightly and picked up my pen again. I flipped the page over and kept on doodling viciously.

" _And seriously, it's not like you even have a family. You wouldn't know how to treat a child if you had one! You don't know what uprooting a sixteen year old would do to that same sixteen year old...so why do you think it's your decision to make. You aren't God. You aren't...You have...argghh!"_

The bell interrupted my frustrated thoughts. _Saved by the bell, Grizzle?_ I glanced in his direction and saw him staring directly back at me. _Oh, so_ that's _the way you want to play it. Okay._ I walked up to his desk and stood there are the other students packed up their backs and the classroom emptied behind me. Direct eye contact was made, neither of us willing to break it. As the silence fell behind me, I cocked my head to the side and raised my eyebrows at him. He gazed back stoically. _Brave soul._

"I've heard interesting things going around my household..."

"Is that so?"

"Quite. Rumor has it, someone called Child Protection Services on my curious circumstances and has stirred up some trouble."

"That's most unfortunate for you. I hope everything works out for you, Cassie. I really do."

"Did you put in the call?"

"I'm not obligated to tell you either way..."

"Cut the crap, Grizzle. Did you or didn't you call CPS on my dad?" And I watched his face without blinking as he almost immediately responded with...

"I did not."

"Bullshit."

"Miss McMan. I don't care how upset you are. You will watch your language or you will get a detention."

"Oh, so _now_ this is a teacher/student relationship. I'm sorry. I'm getting whiplash from how many times your personality changes. I'm still calling you on your bull."

"On what grounds?"

"Not only did your eyes dart to the side when you said it, but you also tried to distract me from my original question by calling me on foul language, of all things. So yes. I'm calling you out on your lie. _Why_ did you feel the need to call Child Protection Services on my family?"

He paused for a second. I allowed the silence, letting it gather while he attempted to climb out of the hole he was in.

"I couldn't help but notice...within the past few weeks...the series of unfortunate events that have plagued your family."

By my silence, I let him know that wasn't good enough by simply raising an eyebrow.

"I also couldn't help but connect those events to the timely arrival of Alex Rider back at Brookland. It seems, once again, he is in the thick of things. From there, I could only assume that, as a trouble maker, he had dragged you into something foul...and for all I knew, your father was already a part of it. After all, he did get shot."

"Unfortunately, sir," I let the sarcasm hit him like a physical blow, "you have gathered facts and jumped to the completely wrong conclusion. You have endangered me, my dad, and even Alex Rider, who did nothing to wrong you in any way. All you've done is constantly and consistently wrong him when he has done nothing to deserve it."

"Now just wait one minute! I don't think that's fair..."

"You have no idea what he's done. You have no idea why he left school. He's been saving your life for as long as you've been a teacher. He's risked himself over and over again for...everyone! He's twelve times the person you will ever be. Who have you ever risked your life for? Have you ever had to risk your life?"

He didn't respond as he stared at me, mouth half parted in shock.

"I didn't think so."

With that, I threw my pack onto my shoulder and stomped out of the room.

* * *

**Alex's Perspective**

It was about 2:15 in the afternoon when the cellular rang. I glanced at it and quickly answered with a short, "Rider."

"Agent Rider, I have here that you have overdrawn on your account. If you could please come down to the bank, we would love to sit down with you and go over your accounts."

"What time?"

"Would 20 minutes be possible?"

"I'll be there."

I clicked the phone shut and looked at Snake lounging on the couch.

"I'm being called up..." and at that, Snake's cellular started ringing as well. We both looked at it. Slowly, he clicked on.

"McMan."

I couldn't hear what was going on at the other end of the line, but from the sink of Snake's shoulders I could tell it wasn't what he wanted to hear.

"Yes sir."

More mumbling.

"Yes sir. I can be there in five hours. ...Yes sir."

He clicked the phone shut and turned to look at me as he got off the couch. "Brecon Beacons wants me to give a gunshot wound seminar tonight. The person originally scheduled to give the lecture got shot. ...Irony wins out. So I'm the back up. But they don't know how long they're going to need me. Honestly, I don't see how many lectures I can give to the same people..."

We looked at each other.

"We better leave a note."

As Snake went to go grab his pack, I quickly penned out a note to Cassie. Since neither of us could write down details, I simply reminded her where to find the emergency credit card for food, knowing that she'd pick up on the hint that her dad might be gone for more than a few days.

As Snake came downstairs, I helped him whip around the house and fix everything for a possibly extended vacation. We took all the bullets out of the guns and locked them in the safe, double checked the windows were bolted, and rearranged the living room furniture so that the backs of the couches weren't up against the window.

With that, I bid my adieu's and jumped into my car to rush to the Royal and General.

* * *

**Cassie's Perspective**

As I walked up the front walkway of my house, I could immediately tell that there was no one home. The curtains had been shut, Cub's car wasn't out front, and I could see from the outline of our living room furniture that my dad had decided to feng shui.

Gritting my teeth with resignation, I pulled out my key and unlocked the front door.

Silence.

I walked into the kitchen and found the note on the table. Understanding the implied message, I grabbed a bag of frozen hamburger meat out of the freezer along with the spare credit card hidden in the ice tray. I set out the meat to defrost and settled into my normal, after-school routine. After all, this was nothing new. At this point, I was a seasoned pro of facing the unexpected. And this wasn't nearly as unexpected as you might think...

* * *

I dreaded Chemistry the next day. I had no idea how Grizzle was going to react to yesterdays confrontation. And now I was at my most vulnerable, if only because both dad and Cub were away on business. Gathering my nerve, I walked into the classroom and sat down at my assigned seat.

Not even 20 seconds trickled by when I heard, "Miss McMan, I'd love to speak with you after class."

I heard the general "ooooh"s from the crowd and even one "somebody's in trooouble." Rolling my eyes, I looked straight ahead and refused to acknowledge Grizzle's request. I can only assume he accepted my eye roll because he didn't bring it up again.

As the bell rang, I waited patiently for the other students to run to the door to their freedom on the other side.

I walked up to Grizzle's desk, my face a mask. "Yes sir?"

"Cassie, I have reviewed everything you said to me. I wanted to apologize for ignoring you. I asked you how your home life was and you said it was perfectly fine. That said, I will not apologize for acting on my suspicions. I wish for you to see and accept that I would have done this for any student...it's required that I report any suspicious activity. Imagine if you actually _were_ being abused or living in a dangerous household. In that situation, I bet that you would have been ecstatic that I reported my suspicions. I will not apologize for that. But I am sorry about ignoring your thoughts on the matter."

I just stared at him. I didn't want to hear his apology. I wouldn't accept it. It had brought much unnecessary stress into my personal life. On the other side of my head I heard a discreet, _but he does have a point..._ I crossed my arms over my chest. That was as much of an acceptance as he was going to get.

"Moving on. Since you're so adamant that he's not the bad guy in this situation and that I've been reading him wrong from the get-go, I'd love the opportunity to, once again, speak with Mr. Rider. Is there any way you can pass that message along to him? The phone number he called me from last time is no longer in service."

"Unfortunately, Mr. Grizzle, Alex is out of town and is, as such, unavailable to face your scrutiny. I do not know when he will be coming back."

"Very well. Will you please inform him when he returns that I wish to speak with him?"

"I surely will. Is that all, Mr. Grizzle?"

He nodded.

I nodded in response and headed out the door.

This was one message that I'd definitely be passing along.

* * *

**Bonus scene:**

Ramona was sitting in her car, once again scoping out the house for a last lead. After being run to the ground, being led in circles by anonymous tips, she was about to be fed up with this case. To her surprise, the passenger door of her car opened and a middle-aged white man who she had never met climbed in. He was wearing a top hat with a popped collar so that I couldn't make out any of his features. Then the shock set in. "What are you doing in my car? Get out!"

His head swiveled to look at the CPS agent. "Ramona Hawkins, I'm here to get you to drop your interest in the McMan case at any cost. So, what is the cost going to be?"

She stared at him in shock. "Excuse me?"

"Am I going to have to use force? Or is a very obvious threat such as 'if you don't drop this case, some questionable characters will be coming after you very shortly' work?"

She shook her head, attempting to clear out the cobwebs. Clearly she wasn't hearing this guy properly.

"Because we won't be afraid to come after you. And though I would pause to think about harming such a lady as yourself, many of my associates wouldn't stop at all. In fact, they take care of these things on a daily basis."

"You just want me to drop the McMan case?"

"Yes ma'am."

"...O...okay? You know nothing was going to come of it anyway...right?"

"But that's not important is it? What's important is that this never happened. This case...doesn't exist."

With that, the unnamed man got out of the car and walked back down the street. Heeding his advice, Ramona started up her car and headed back to work to close the case file.


	12. Chapter 12

**Grizzle's Perspective**

The passing time trickled by. I kept an uncomfortably close eye on Cassie throughout the school day. I'm sure an outsider looking in would have thought that I was up to no good of some sort, watching a student like that, but as it is, no one directly confronted me about it. So I kept right on watching.

It seemed, in the past week alone, that Cassie had aged. Okay, maybe not aged. Just become more responsible. Like she knew I was watching. Like she knew there would be consequences if she screwed up.

I could really only assume that the case worker had given up because I had seen nothing come of my accusation.

So, I watched.

Another week had gone by before I accepted the changes Cassie had made in herself.

She had started bringing her own lunch to school instead of purchasing it. She was much more calm and collected in her dealings with friends. It was as if she couldn't afford to get in trouble and she _knew_ people were looking after her - waiting for something to go wrong.

I gathered up my hot lunch and stood to leave lunch. I was in charge of the first half of lunch patrol, so I quickly threw away my trash and hurriedly scurried to my classroom for five minutes of sanity while I prepared for and awaited my next class.

I sat down at my desk to open up the powerpoint I was lecturing from. It was as I was digging through my h-drive that I heard the dreaded vibrating. I looked up, fully expecting to have to take someone's cell phone away, before realizing that I was alone in the room.

I turned to look at the filing cabinet. _Who would call me during school hours?_

_Of course it's a private number. Someone I could call back would be too much to ask._

In the end, the split second choice turned out to be the right one. I clicked the green button, put the phone to my ear and said "David Grizzle."

"You wished to speak to me?"

* * *

**Alex's Perspective**

It wasn't often that I got home from a mission in the exact same condition that I left for the mission. Whenever this did happen, I've got to say, it's the biggest high. You come back feeling completely invincible - like you're on top of the world and nothing can hurt you. However, since I always have to have complete control over my emotions, I didn't let it show. I'm a better spy that that. After all, I'm still alive.

I let myself into Snake's house and finally allowed myself to smile. It was home. Sure, I owned a house - Josh's house was home. Two steps inside the house showed me that Snake still wasn't home from Beacons. I took this in stride and continued into the house knowing that Cassie would be at school and I was the only one there.

I went into the kitchen and opened up the fridge. Finding a beer, I popped the top and allowed myself to celebrate my happy homecomings. As I shut the refrigerator, a small piece of paper fluttered out from underneath its' magnet and floated to the floor. It finally settled beneath the counter, nestled up against the baseboard. Groaning, I bent down to pick it up and spotted my name.

Deciding it was of import to me (after all, why would it be in plain sight if it wasn't for me?) I pulled out a chair and sat down to read what it said.

_Tell Cub that Grizzle wants to talk to him ASAP._

"Well that's just dandy," speaking to myself.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, weighing the pros and cons in my head.

_Oh, why the hell not._

I took my cellular out of my back pocket and began dialing Grizzle's number. I crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the bin as the phone rang in my ear.

"David Grizzle."

"You wished to speak to me?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Still trying to find answers to unanswerable questions?"

"I know."

"Excuse me?"

"I know about everything."

This time it was me that kept the silence. I didn't want to feed any fuel to his fire.

"I don't know how you did it - convincing the army to let you join at 14. You must have been the very first kid soldier. All those times you were out, you weren't sick. You were working. I get it now. I figured it all out. It doesn't matter that you didn't move on in school because you were already working a full time job. Clearly, you must still be doing it."

"I really have no idea what you're talking about..."

"Bullshit! It all makes sense. Now I just need to hear it from you. The truth, Rider. Are you or are you not a soldier in the British army?"

 _Once again, he has leapt to the wrong conclusion._ Determined not to throw him a bone, I responded, "I can honestly tell you that the truth will be more than you bargained for."

I stood up and started pacing. "Either way, you will never get it. I can neither confirm, nor deny, the charges you have set in front of me. I may have had "some" job growing up that I am not at liberty to discuss.

I can, however, tell you to back off your childish inquiries into my personal life and the personal lives of the McMan family. They are both insulting and juvenile...not to mention dangerous for all those involved."

"What do you mean, dangerous?"

"I thought you knew who you were dealing with here?"

Silence.

"Precisely. Whichever version of my past is true - be it the drug dealer, the gang member, or the prodigious child soldier - do you really want to get on the wrong side of me?"

"Well, I..."

"Mr. Grizzle, I am offering you an out here. You should take it. Live in your ignorance. Leave me and my acquaintances be. You stay out of my hair and you pray that I don't get in yours. Be happy with that. If you keep digging, you won't like what you find. And if you _do_ end up finding something...you cann _ot_ say that I didn't warn you."

With that, I clicked my phone shut, set it on the table, and grabbed my head with my hands.

_Ruining a perfectly good day._

I jostled my hair, grabbed my beer, and put the phone call out of my head. _Not going to let it bother me. If he's stupid enough to keep digging..._

Taking a gulp, I walked into the living room, turned on the telly, plopped on the couch, and waited for my family to get home.


	13. Chapter 13

**Grizzle's Perspective**

Life is astonishing. It's as simple as that. With a single conversation, Alex Rider had completely flipped my entire perception of him around. Okay, that's not necessarily true. I make a point of being honest with myself, and honestly...that wasn't right. Okay, with one conversation Alex Rider had thrown my thoughts into a tizzy.

I really didn't know what to think. Was he a "good guy" or a "bad guy"? Was there anything I could do about it? Was there anything I _wanted_ to do about it?

_Live in your ignorance. You stay out of my hair and you pray that I don't get in yours. If you keep digging, you won't like what you find. And if you do end up finding something...you cannot say that I didn't warn you._

It could only be interpreted that I should bug out of his life. He actually said he was throwing me a bone. Maybe I should take it and run with it.

My thoughts were interrupted by the first students funneling into my classroom. They still had their post-lunch exuberance and all looked completely oblivious to my inner musings.

I contemplated the state of things for the following minutes while I waited for the rest of the class to meander in. As the noise level rose, I closed my eyes and pinched the top of my nose. Great, I was developing a headache.

Thinking of Alex working for the government at the mere age of 14...it was absurd. And yet, it made sense. He distinctly recalled Alex being infinitely more mature than anyone else in the class. The extended absences (continued to this day), the mysterious illnesses, the super-secret phone calls...it all added up to something.

About to groan in utter frustration, I opened my eyes and, like a moth drawn to the flame, my eyes zeroed in on Cassie as she walked through the door. We stared at each other until, miraculously, she backed down. Stunned, I gaped for a few seconds before shaking myself out of it as the bell signaled the beginning of class.

I opened up the powerpoint and began my lecture as I heard a knock on the door. Frowning at the thought that this was how it all began, I stated a solid "enter."

The entire class waited with bated breath to see who was going to come through the door. It slowly opened and Mrs. Campbell, the office assistant, stuck her head through the crack.

"Pardon the interruption, Mr. Grizzle. Sam Rubenstein has a doctor's appointment. His mother is here to pick him up."

The class started snickering as everyone looked to me, expectantly. "Oh, of course, Mrs. Campbell. Sam, if you will, homework is on the board. It's straight out of your book."

As Sam gathered his books, Mrs. Campbell left the room, her message delivered.

Administrator gone, the classroom got a bit antsy and out of control.

"Have fun with your mom, Rubenstein," one of the students whispered from the back row.

"We hope to see you tomorrow," I raised my voice slightly to speak over the taunts.

"Don't pull an Alex Rider on us now."

My head whipped around so quickly that I didn't even notice I wasn't the only person to do so. I immediately spotted Ian McPhearson in the back corner, sniggering at his remark.

Gathering myself up, I made a split second decision. "McPhearson. I don't want to hear any more comments this year about Mr. Alex Rider. In fact, the next person that brings his name up in my class in any derogatory way will receive a detention. Is this understood?"

The class stared at me blankly.

"I asked if this was understood."

Waves of "Yes sir," and "sure" flushed over me in a bittersweet cacophony of teenage murmurs.

I nodded shortly and went back to my desk to begin the lecture.

As the bell rang signaling the end of the period, the hoard ran to the door. Cassie moved a bit slower, leisurely winding her way to the door with her small group of friends. As she passed my desk, we made eye contact once again. I graced her with a small nod of acceptance.

After a second, she politely nodded back.

And with that mutual respect understood...life went on.


End file.
